Ghachar Ghochar: A Novel
Feb 2017 · Penguin
4,2star
5 reviewsreport
eBook
128
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn more
About this eBook
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' TOP BOOKS OF 2017
ONE OF VULTURE'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN FICTION
“A modern classic.” —The New York Times Book Review
A young man's close-knit family is nearly destitute when his uncle founds a successful spice company, changing their fortunes overnight. As they move from a cramped, ant-infested shack to a larger house on the other side of Bangalore, and try to adjust to a new way of life, the family dynamic begins to shift. Allegiances realign; marriages are arranged and begin to falter; and conflict brews ominously in the background. Things become “ghachar ghochar”—a nonsense phrase uttered by one meaning something tangled beyond repair, a knot that can't be untied.
Elegantly written and punctuated by moments of unexpected warmth and humor, Ghachar Ghochar is a quietly enthralling, deeply unsettling novel about the shifting meanings—and consequences—of financial gain in contemporary India.
“A classic tale of wealth and moral ruin.” —The New Yorker
“Ghachar Ghochar introduces us to a master.” —The Paris Review
Named a Best Book of the Year by the Guardian, Globe and Mail, and Publishers Weekly
Shortlisted for the ALTA National Translation Award in Prose
Longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award
ONE OF VULTURE'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN FICTION
“A modern classic.” —The New York Times Book Review
A young man's close-knit family is nearly destitute when his uncle founds a successful spice company, changing their fortunes overnight. As they move from a cramped, ant-infested shack to a larger house on the other side of Bangalore, and try to adjust to a new way of life, the family dynamic begins to shift. Allegiances realign; marriages are arranged and begin to falter; and conflict brews ominously in the background. Things become “ghachar ghochar”—a nonsense phrase uttered by one meaning something tangled beyond repair, a knot that can't be untied.
Elegantly written and punctuated by moments of unexpected warmth and humor, Ghachar Ghochar is a quietly enthralling, deeply unsettling novel about the shifting meanings—and consequences—of financial gain in contemporary India.
“A classic tale of wealth and moral ruin.” —The New Yorker
“Ghachar Ghochar introduces us to a master.” —The Paris Review
Named a Best Book of the Year by the Guardian, Globe and Mail, and Publishers Weekly
Shortlisted for the ALTA National Translation Award in Prose
Longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award
Ratings and reviews
4,2
5 reviews
Jerry Sura
- Flag inappropriate
16 January 2024
curious
About the author
Vivek Shanbhag is the author of eight works of fiction and two plays, all of which have been published to wide acclaim in the South Indian language Kannada. He was a Fall 2016 resident at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. The first of his books to appear in English, Ghachar Ghochar was excerpted in Granta’s 2015 India issue.
Srinath Perur (translator) is a writer and translator whose work has appeared in n+1, Granta, and the Guardian. He is the author of If It's Monday It Must Be Madurai, published by Penguin India.
Srinath Perur (translator) is a writer and translator whose work has appeared in n+1, Granta, and the Guardian. He is the author of If It's Monday It Must Be Madurai, published by Penguin India.
Rate this eBook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Centre instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
